Process of making products having closed structures, such as leather imitations, felt, and japanese paper.



J. FOLTZER. PROCESS OF MAKING PRODUCTS HAVING CLOSED STRUCTURES, SUCH AS LEATHER IMITATIONS, FELT, AND JAPANESE PAPER.

- I I APPLICATI ON FILED AUG.30, I9l6. 1,295,18. E Patented Feb. 25, 1919.

u rs srnrns JOSEPH ron'rzna, or norm, SWITZERLAND,

PROCESS OF MAKING PRODUCTS HAVING CLOSED STRUCTURES, SUCH AS LEATHER IMITATIONS, FELT, ANDJAIANESE EAPER. 7

Specification of Letters Patent. :Batgntgd Feb, 25, 1919,

Application filed August 30, 1916. Serial No. 117,734.

' To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH FoLTzER, a citizen ofthe Republic of Switzerland, residing at Horn, Switzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Products Having Closed Structures, such as Leather Imitations, Felt, and Japanese Paper; and I' do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as Wlll enable others-skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, panying of reference marked thereon, which form a' part of this specification.

This invention relates to a process of making products having a closed structure, such as leather-imitations, felt, Japanese paper. The process forming the subject-matter of my present invention consists in feeding a carded, felted, fibrous fleece into a dressingmachine having rolls, which are adapted to press a solution of cellulose, for instance a cellulose-solution of viscose or copper oxidammonia, into the fibrous fleece, and passing the latter through a liquid effecting a hardening of said solution of cellulose, for instance an alkaline or acid bath. According to this process it is thus possible to obtain an exceedingly solid product having a closed structure. The carded, felted fleece may be .made of an unbleached, or only partly or completely bleached fibrous material, which may then be subjected to an after treatment in.0rder to make it waterproof and which may be uniformly or differently colored. As such materials I may use, for instance, cotton, ramie, bast, silk or wastes of artificial silk.

The process forming the subject-matter of this present invention may be carried into effect by using, for instance, the dressingmachine illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing.

In this drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of the dressingmachine and Figs. 2-4 show modifications of details of this machine.

The materials used for the manufacture of the products to be made according to my process are first carded in a well known manner in a simple or double cardingreference being had to the acc0mdrawing, and to letters or figures engine not shown in the drawing, to a thoroughly equal fleece. Immediately behind this carding-engine I provide suitable means for effecting a thorough felting of the fibers, which upon the leaving of the comb of the carding-engine are all arranged lengthwise. The so produced well equalized fibrous fleece is then wound upon a reel A,'which is put on a dressing-machine 0 comprising two pressure-rolls B B. These rolls are adapted to exert a pressure on the fleece passing between them and to this end I may provide any suitable means. In the embodiment shown I provide for this purpose levers.

J J and a weight K; One of said pressurerolls, and it is immaterial which one, has a corrugated surface, while the other isprovided with a rubber-coat. -The lower roll B of this dressing-machine dips into a trough D filled with a solution of cellulose.

The latter acts as a binding mass for the fibrous fleece passing over the feed-table E and between the rolls B B The lower roll B dipping into the trough D conveys the 1 solution of cellulose to the fibrous fleece, just in the samemanner as in the hitherto known finlshingor dressing-machines the dressing is conveyed to the tissue. The upper roll B presses the mass intothe felt-layer, the surplus flowing back into the trough D. When using one of the solutions'of cellulose reformed to the felted fibers are already caused l to stick so well together, owing to the action of the pressure exerted by the rolls B B which apply at the same time the bindingmedium to the fleece, that the product may be fed at a high speed and without further ado, preferably in a stretched or tensioned condition, through a trough F, which contains a liquid adapted to effect a hardening of the dissolved cellulose. The product released by rolls G G may then be wound upon a shaft H, in order to be eventually subjected to an after treatment and dried (while it is under tension) and finally passed over a goffering roll. The final product is nearly untearable owing to the combined action of the felting, to which it has been subjected, the solution of cellulose applied by the press-rolls and the hardening liquid. Said product is also soft and pliant particularl when the material used consists of nn'leached or only partly bleached fibers and when one of the two rolls B B surface, while the other'on'e is coated with rubber.

Leather-imitations made according to my new process have a closed structure and they may also be made waterproof by sub3ect1ng them to an after treatment, or by adding to the cellulose-mass compounds adapted to keep off the water. Should it be desired to produce according to the above described process and by using the device shown in the drawing not only leather-imitations, but also felt-products and fur-imitations, it is necessary to use for the fleece to be carded a long-stapled fibrous'material. In this case I provide also on that of the two pressurerolls B B which has to be provided with corrugations, only at certain places such corrugations, While the parts of this roll lying between the corrugated places are left quite smooth (Fig. 2). Where the corrugations of the corrugated roll act together with the binding-medium on the fiber-layer, the fibrous material is caused to stick toget-her in a more intimate manner, while at the places where the smooth surfaces of the roll act on the material, less binding-medium is applied, a less intimate sticking together or gluing of the fibers. is obtained,-

so that u on a drying of the parts sticking less togetlier the fibers may again be wholly set free by scratching the surface of these parts. These fibers may then be brushed over the places or stripes sticking together, it being thus possible to obtain a beautiful long-fibrous felt and also imitations of furs. Care has, however, to be taken, that not too much solution of cellulose is applied to the fibrous material, as the product would stick ogether too strongly when a too great surplus of the solution has to be squeezed out by the pressure-rolls B B In this case it would not be possible to obtain a felt even by scratching the surface of the product. Should it be desired to produce a product, which is like Japanese paper, it is necessary to add to the unbleached fibrous material used for the manufacture of the fibrous fleece a suitable quantity of bleached cotton. For very hard imitations it is advisable to use only bleached fibers. According to the ratio between the bleached and unbleached quantity of fibrous material contained in the fleece I obtain a more or less tenacious, parchment-like Japanese paper. The reason for this lies in the fact, that when I use an unbleached fibrous material, the surface of which may only be made Wet with great difiiculty, the solution of cellulose cannot penetrate into the cells of the fibers notwithstanding the great pressure exerted by the rolls B B In this case the solution of cellulose only envelops the fibers and causes them to stick together, but does not impregnate these fibers, while When I use a bleached 'cles in any suitable manner artificial fiber-material, which owing to its previous treatment does not contain any greasy and wax-like materials and which may thus be very easily wetted, the solution of cellulose penetrates into the cells of the fibers forming the whole into a stiff, parchment-like washed and squeezed out they may also be passed in a wet condition through a bath of caustic soda or caustic potash. Owing to this treatment it is possible to obtain nearly waterproof and transparent products of the class referred to. When I use a bath of caustic soda or caustic potash for effecting the hardening of the cellulose I prefer to subject the artificial product, which has to be passed through said bath to a tension Fig. 1) or to the action of ressure-rolls (Fig. 3) in order to prevent a s linking and obtain more luster.

For the purpose of manufacturing certain imitation leathers, the solution of cellulose may also be applied to the fibrous fleece by means of the upper roll B or a sprayplg e (Fig. 4c).

he products made according to the hereinbefore described process prevent, owing to their closed structure, any passage of the air and therefore also any exhalation. This forms in certain cases a drawback, which may be overcome by pressing into said artipores. What I claim is: a

1. The method of producing fibrous webs, which comprises felting fibers into' a web, applying to the felted fibers a cellulose solution heavier at intervals than at intermediate portions of the felted web, and hardening the cellulose.

2 The methbd of producing fibrous webs, whlch comprises felting fibers into a web,

applying to the felted fibers a cellulose solution heavier at intervals than at intermediate portions of the felted web, maintaining the web under pressure during the applicaltion of the solution, and hardening the celluose.

3. The method of producing fibrous webs, which comprises felting fibers into a web, uniting the fibers by a cellulose solution applied at close intervals, hardening the cellulose, and brushing up the fibers in the intervals between the points of application of the cellulose.

.4. The method of producing fibrous webs,

eventually bleached means intervals, hardening the cellulose and brushing up the fibers at the points of lesser cohesion.

5. The method of producing fibrous webs,

which comprises felting fibers into a web,

rolling into the felt a cellulose solution, there being more solution applied at intervals than at the intermediate portions of the felted web, passing the web through a 111- furic acid solution of 50-60 B., washing the web, and "whilestill damp passing the I web through an alkaline 'bath.

6. The method of producing fibrous webs,

I as my invention, I have signed my name in which comprises felting fibers into a web,

pressing a cellulose solution into the felt,-

passing the felt into a cellulose hardening solution, and producing artificial pores in the product.

' 7. The method of producing fibrous webs,

which comprises felting fibers into a Web,ro1ling a cellulose solution into the web, said solution being applied in greater quantity at some intervals than at others, hardening the cellulose and producing artificial pores in the product.

8. The method of producing fibrous webs,

which comprises felting long staple fibers into a web, pressing a cellulose solution into the web suflicient to produce a binding of the fibers, said solution being applied in greater quantity at some intervals than at others, hardening the cellulose, drying the web, raising the fibers at the intervals. having the lesser quantity of cellulose, and pressing pores into the product.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH FOLTZER.

Witnesses:

FRANZ NAEF, JEAN WIDMEB. 

